Freelancers by Choice

Posted by
Paladin on
November 05, 2012

Many companies have turned to freelancers after downsizing during the recession. Paladin freelancer Shari Schmidt shares her experiences after leaving the full-time job market 14 years ago. The 48 year-old freelancer works from her kitchen, on an hourly basis, and works a maximum of 40 hours a week. Shari sees her freelance position as a win-win situation, as it allows her to focus more on her family life while still improving her professional fitness: “I was able to keep my resume active, do some really interesting projects, keep my name out there, AND stay home. I could pick and choose projects; I could work as many hours or as few hours as I wanted to. And I was able to balance both things out in a way that made sense for our family.”

PBS sat down with Shari on their Nightly Business Report, “Freelancer by Choice and Not Looking Back to Corporate Life,” to get her perspective on the benefits and advantages of moving into the freelance workforce, full time. To view the full PBS interview with Shari, click here.

Through Paladin, Shari has been consistently employed as a freelancer and has been able to create her perfect position. She makes around $85,000 annually, from her kitchen, on her schedule. While Shari imagines she could potentially make more money in a full-time position, she knows the extra money would be eaten up paying for childcare, pet sitters, and commute. Shari is just one of the many project-based professionals that are happily employed. As a matter of fact, 62% of freelancers are getting work managing 2 to 6 projects at a time and 43% of those workers expect to out-earn their current paychecks next year.

When Paladin first found Shari freelance employment, she assumed she would eventually go back to working full-time, but after 14 years of project-based work, Shari has a different attitude: “I hope I can continue to freelance at the rate I’m doing now, and stay out of an office.” And with our help, she can.